Abby's Diable
by Scorpio71
Summary: Five times that Abby Sciuto met Remy LeBeau. And one time that she didn't.


TITLE: Abby's Diable

AUTHOR: Scorpio

FANDOMS: NCIS / X-Men

CHARACTERS: Abby Sciuto, Remy LeBeau (Gambit)

RATING: PG-13 / Teens

DISCLAIMER: Gambit is owned by Stan Lee and Marvel Entertainment Group. Abby and NCIS is owned by Belisarius Productions.

SUMMARY: Five times Abby Sciuto met Remy LeBeau. And one time she didn't.

* * *

Abby's Diable

_by Scorpio_

* * *

When Abby Sciuto was eight years old, she was on the playground with her friend Tommy and Julia talking about Mrs. Weathermere's third grade math class. Abby loved it because it was such a challenge, but Tommy was convinced that Mrs. Weathermere was the devil's way of punishing him for not cleaning up his room when his mom told him to.

Suddenly, a short and scrawny kid with torn jeans and wild hair came stumbling through the bushes. He was running fast in a blind panic and slammed into Tommy hard. Both boys tumbled to the ground with loud 'oofs' and then the smaller boy curled up sobbing.

"Desole! Desole! Doan let him get m'! Help m', sil' tu plait!"

Abby saw someone else rustling the bushes, so quick as a whip she grabbed the 'Saints' hat off of Tommy's head and slapped it onto the smaller boy. Then she peeled off her denim jacket and wrapped it around the smaller boy.

Julia, seeing what she was doing also got into the act and cried out, "Tommy! Stop teasin' your baby brother!"

Just then, a large and angry man with cold eyes stomped over to them. He sneered and Abby shivered. This was the man chasing the boy? She shivered again.

"Did y' see a devil chile run t'rough here?"

Abby blinked and shrank back from the man. The boy on the ground flinched back and shivered with a hitched sob catching in his throat.

Tommy…thank god for Tommy. He just looked up and rolled his eyes at the man, oblivious to just how dangerous he really was. Instead of shivering or stepping back, Tommy slapped a hand down on the boy's shoulder and pulled him up and away from the man and chuckled.

"Yeah. Some crazy kid run past an' pushed Stevie on the ground an' made him cry like a baby." Tommy snorted. "Wait till I tell the guys 'bout that."

The boy tried to shove away from Tommy, but he held on tight and gave the kid a good shake.

"Stop it Stevie or I'm tellin' mom you've been fightin'."

The man narrowed his cruel eyes and stared at the two boys with more interest than Abby was comfortable with. Shivering, she stepped into his line of sight and pointed off in the other direction.

"The mean kid ran that way after he knocked Stevie down. He was rude." As was her way, she spoke out loud and signed with ASL at the same time.

The man looked over at Abby and she shivered, suddenly cold. This man, she knew instantly, was a killer. Then he turned and loped off into the distance. When she couldn't see him any more, she turned back and looked at the boy.

He was thin and battered looking with despair clinging to him. She knew she wanted to help him but she had no clue how.

"Are you okay, kid?" She asked and signed.

The boy blinked at her, a look of confusion on his face as he watched her hands flutter in the air. Julia giggled slightly.

"Don't mind Abby. Her folks is deaf, so she talks wit' her hands too."

The confusion didn't clear up, but he nodded once. Then he looked around at all of them. For the first time, Abby noticed that his eyes were strange. They were glowing red on a field of black.

"Are you blind?" Abby asked and signed. "Can you not see? Like my parents can't hear?"

He looked at her, cringing back in fear.

"I's can see." He whispered.

She nodded as Tommy and Julia both shrugged with easy acceptance.

"So," Tommy said, "who was that y' runnin' from?"

The boy stilled and cringed down a bit, his strange eyes darting around in fear.

"De Antiquary."

And they all gasped at that. The Antiquary was the biggest boogie-man in all of New Orleans. A torturer of children, everyone had heard of him…and everyone was afraid. Even if most didn't even believe he actually existed.

Then the boy carefully took off Tommy's Saints hat and handed it back. "Merci."

Next came the denim jacket that he pulled off and handed over to Abby. "Merci."

He somehow seemed even smaller and helpless without them. She knew he was going to leave…to keep running. She wanted him to stay and be safe with them. With her.

She pointed to herself.

"I'm Abby."

Julia grinned and nodded before pointing to herself.

"I'm Julia."

The boy smiled and nodded at them both before turning a look on Tommy. He just shrugged and grinned.

"Tommy."

The boy's tiny smile faded a bit more and he pointed to himself.

"Diable."

Then, he turned and ran back through the bushes and Abby wondered if she'd ever see him again.

* * *

When Abby was ten years old she was walking through the marketplace in the Quarter on her way to her uncle's apartment. She loved visiting him because unlike at her own house, he always had music playing. She loved her parents, but living with two deaf people meant that she rarely was exposed to music and noise and her uncle indulged her need for and love of music whenever he could.

She was nearly there when a loud voice captured her attention.

"T'ief!" She looked over to see a boy with dirty hair and torn jeans being shaken by a fruit seller. "I caught y' dis time y' spawn o' de devil!"

The boy struggled in the stronger grasp, a round melon falling to the ground between them.

"Non! Doan! Y' let ol' Remy go, oui M'sieur?"

"I don't t'ink so, t'ief!"

The boy turned his head and Abby saw his eyes looking out from over top of a pair of dark sunglasses. They were a glowing red on a field of deepest black. Memory of long ago slammed into her so hard she swayed on her feet.

The Antiquary's escaped slave!

She quailed for a moment and then straightened her spine. She'd saved him once before and it looked like she was going to have to save him again.

Putting a fake scowl on her face, she stomped up to them and made a fist. Then she waved her pointer finger under his nose and huffed.

"Stevie!"

Both the shopkeeper and the boy turned to look at her in astonishment and confusion. Then, the boy's features softened slightly in recognition and he grinned briefly before hiding it under a look of pretend guiltiness.

"Allo, Abby."

She growled lightly and shook her finger some more.

"Don't you hello Abby me, buster. You are in soooo much trouble. You were supposed t' be home for lunch instead of running through the streets with your pack of nasty friends. Momma's gonna be so mad at you!"

Both the boy and the shopkeeper blinked in surprise at her rant. The boy picked up his cue faster though.

"Non! Doan tell momma. I didn' do not'in'. Swear!"

The shopkeeper snorted at that and picked up his cue in this strange little play that Abby had orchestrated. He pushed the boy at her and scowled.

"That…that…brother o' yours been stealin' from m' shop all week. Finally caught de little connard t'day."

Abby couldn't help it. She gasped with her pale eyes open wide in shock.

"Language!" she shrieked and the shopkeeper blushed.

"Desole, petite."

She huffed at him, but then nodded forgiveness. Turning, she looked down her nose at the boy and tried to look stern. It didn't help that she wanted to burst into giggles at the shy guilty looks he was giving her.

"And what do you have t' say for y'self, Stevie?"

The boy shuffled his feet for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders before slumping them down in apparent defeat.

"Desole, Abby. I's didn' mean t' be trouble."

After one last look, she nodded. Then she turned to point at the melon.

"Is that the one you wanted?" She reached for her pocket and pulled out a couple of bills.

"Oui, mais…" he trailed off, unsure of what to do or say.

She sighed.

"I don't know why y' just don' ask for money."

She handed over the cash to the shopkeeper and shoved the melon into the boy's arms. When the boy opened his mouth to say something, she whipped her finger up under his nose again and shook it.

"And don't tell me it's more fun t' try an' get away with it. That's not fun, it's wrong an' when momma finds out she's gonna tan your bottom."

The shopkeeper huffed.

"Bein! Do dat boy some good t' have his hide tanned. An' y' just keep him outta m' shop from now on, y' hear?"

Abby nodded and then grabbed his shoulder and turned him around and gave him a gentle push.

"I take him home now, M'sieur."

The shopkeeper nodded and the two walked away.

They were silent for a while and then the boy spoke softly.

"Merci Abby…mais, y' didn' have t' do dat for m'."

She shrugged and smiled at him.

"I'll always try t' help you." She grinned at him and bent down to place a soft kiss on his dirty cheek. "You're my Diable."

He smiled at her then reached out to lift one of her hands and brushed a kiss along the back of it.

"Call m' Remy, chere."

* * *

When Abby was sixteen she was invited to a party that was being held in one of the older graveyards. Rumor had it that the graveyard was haunted, but whether it was haunted by ghosts, zombies, or vampires was up for debate. The less superstitious said the danger of the graveyard came from the fact that it was halfway between the section of the city ruled by thieves and the section of the city ruled by assassins.

Abby thought maybe it was both.

She wouldn't have been allowed to come if her parents knew where the party was being held, so she hadn't told them. Instead, she had snuck out and met Julia at her house. The two girls got ready to go together.

Now that she was here, she was having a blast. The music was loud and rowdy and the drinks were flowing freely. The atmosphere was spooky and fun and she danced through the crowd of revelers enjoying herself immensely.

Then, someone screamed.

It was a scream of pain and fear and desperation.

Chaos erupted as people began running every which way and the darkness and loud music only made things worse. Dark shapes loomed out of the night and Abby ran without really knowing why she did. Then, something hard and painful slammed into her shin. With a cry of pain and fear, she toppled over a headstone and crashed to the ground with a solid thump.

Reaching for her leg, she saw that it wasn't broken, but a long cut went up the front of it sluggishly bleeding down her skin.

"Dammit!" she cried.

It hurt so bad and she didn't know what was going on. She was scared and lost and she no longer wanted to party. She just wanted to be at home, tucked into her bed, and reading through her favorite science book.

Suddenly, cold hard hands grabbed her from behind and dragged her up. The world shivered violently as she was swirled around. She fought back the wave of vertigo and tried not to sick up as cold fetid breath reeking of old blood and rotting flesh washed over her.

Opening her eyes, she looked right into the face of her own death. Yellowed fangs gleamed dully in the moonlight and soulless black eyes stared down at her. The demon…vampire, her mind screamed…chuckled hollowly and she cringed.

This was not how she wanted to die! Not at the hands of some monster in an old cemetery in New Orleans before she'd even had her first real kiss!

Then a shadow detached itself from the darkness and moved swiftly towards them. A soft fleshy thud echoed dully and suddenly the vampire stumbled away from her. A thin strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her back and away. Clutching at the arm for balance as her injured leg tried to give way under her; she looked up into two glowing red eyes floating on a field of blackness.

"Diable!" she cried with relief and clutched at him tighter.

No longer a thin little boy with dirty hair, he was now a lithely muscled teen with soft auburn locks flowing around his face and a gleaming smile on his handsome face.

Then he blinked at her in shocked recognition.

"Abby?"

She nodded and stumbled when he stepped back. A sob caught in her throat.

Remy looked down and saw the blood dripping down her leg and scowled.

"Dat monster hurt y'?"

His scowled deepened into true anger.

"I'll kill 'em."

Then he reached down into a pocket and pulled out a single poker card. Abby absently noted that it was the Jack of Diamonds. Suppressing another sob, she reached out and grabbed his arm.

"No! We've got to run."

She looked and saw the vampire push itself up to its feet and it growled at them. It was a hungry, angry, soulless sound that chilled her to the bone. She tried to pull Remy away, but he wasn't a child anymore.

Then, between one heartbeat and the next, the poker card burst into crimson flames of crackling sizzling energy. With a smirk on his lips, Remy flicked the card through the air and it slammed into the vampire's chest.

**FOOOOM!**

The vampire…exploded. Right in front of her eyes. It just…went boom. And burning rotting body parts rained from the sky.

She felt…cold. Numb. A clinical part of her mind informed her that she was going into shock.

Remy turned his head and grinned at her. She just blinked back and his smile softened.

"Don' worry, petite. Y' Diable gon' protect y'."

As if from miles away, she watched as her hand lifted and brushed gently across his cheek. He leaned into the touch like a cat consenting to be petted.

"I know. I've never doubted you."

His smiled softened even more.

"Merci, chere. Remy knows dat too."

And then, her vision swirled and darkness rushed in as she fainted.

* * *

When Abby was nineteen she was enrolled at Louisiana State University studying science. She wanted to be a forensics specialist. She wanted to make the world a bit better through the mystery and joy that was her beloved science.

She had the brains. She had the determination. She just needed a chance to prove herself and she would take the science world by storm. She was sure of it.

Her arms loaded with more books than she could easily carry, she walked through the library and towards the checkout counter.

Turning a corner around a tall stack, she walked right into something hard and immovable. Books slid out of her arms to rain on the floor and she wobbled on her platform boots for a long scary moment until a strong hand snapped out and caught her.

Ignoring the person she'd slammed into for the moment, she looked down at her books scattered across the floor.

"Dammit."

"Desole, chere. Remy didn' mean t' knock int' y' like dat. Y' bein?"

Her head snapped up at the voice and pale eyes locked onto glowing red ones.

"Diable?"

He blinked.

"Abby?"

With a squeal of happiness, she leapt over her books and into his arms. She wrapped him in a strong hug and laughed in his ear with delight.

"God! It's been years since I've seen you!"

She enjoyed the feel of him hugging her back for a moment and then she stepped away and looked him over. He was wearing torn jeans and a battered LSU sweatshirt, both of which were splattered with paint in a wide selection of colors.

"What are you doing here? I mean, besides knocking people over."

He chuckled through a grin and bent down to help her gather her scattered books.

"Remy's a student. Art major." He gestured to his paint spattered clothes. "Just come from de studio, me."

Abby beamed a smile at him that was full of happiness and joy.

"Oh, that's wonderful. If you ever have a show, you'll have to let me know where so I can come see your work."

Remy chuckled and nodded.

"Sure t'ing, Abby. I'd want y' dere anyway."

She nodded and took all of her books back from him and cradled them in her arms. He tilted his head and eyed the stack with curiosity.

"Science major?"

She chuckled and rolled her eyes at his look of amused disbelief. She huffed playfully and bumped her shoulder against his arm.

"Don't look at me like that, Diable. Science geeks will one day rule the world. So do I, Abby Sciuto; Dark Mistress of Chemistry, proclaim."

Remy chuckled and then made a big show of bowing and scraping at her.

"Oui, Mistress. Remy do hear an' obey."

She nodded and attempted to glare down her nose at him. Her twitching lips and mischievous eyes ruined her fake imperiousness.

"Yes, I can see it now…you, Remy, will make some scientist a good minion someday."

Remy blinked at her for a moment and then they both burst into chuckles. He shrugged and placed a gentle hand on her back to lead her over to the checkout counter.

"Only if'n de mad scientist be you, Abby."

* * *

Abby was twenty-two when she found herself in a New York nightclub. The music was loud and fast. She could feel it thrumming through her body and bones as she swayed and bopped across the dance floor. It wasn't her normal scene, but one of her friends had dragged her out of the campus lab and she didn't mind a night of mindless fun.

Then she caught a flash of long auburn hair and pale skin. She paused to look, but the man was lost in the crowd once again so she kept dancing.

She wasn't sure how much time flew by before she found herself spinning around and right into the arms of a tall muscular man with auburn hair and the beginning of stubble on his chin. She swayed towards him and enjoyed the feel of his muscular body rolling against hers.

She looked up into his hauntingly familiar face and saw her reflection in a pair of sunglasses. Only, the man came to a jarring stop and clutched at her tightly.

"Abby…" was gasped in a soft Cajun drawl that brought to mind images of home in New Orleans as she drifted through the Quarter to visit her uncle.

Then the man reached up with one hand and pushed his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, holding back his long wild auburn hair and exposing his eyes. She looked into red eyes on fields of solid black.

"Diable!"

And he flinched.

He'd never flinched from her. Ever.

He shivered and a look of such horrific pain washed over his face.

"Non! Not Diable."

She didn't understand and her confusion must have been plain to see.

"I met de Devil an' he calls himself Sinister. Never again will I call m'self Diable. Non…not after meetin' him."

She didn't know what he was talking about and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. All she was sure of was that he was hurting…badly. And in her mind she was cast back to that fateful day when she and her two best friends had helped a dirty and terrified little boy with glowing eyes escape from the Antiquary's goons.

There was no decision to make, she just stepped into his personal space and reached up to wrap him in a hug. He flinched a bit and then melted into her arms and sobbed softly in her ear.

"Please, Abby. Call m' Remy…or Gambit. Mais, not…not Diable. Not anymore."

She didn't even need to think about it. She'd save him twice and he'd saved her as well. They'd been friends at LSU until the day he just upped and disappeared. Now, he was back in her life and she didn't want to let him go again.

Not like this. Not with his soul bleeding everywhere for her to practically see.

Grabbing his hand, she turned and led him through the shifting and dancing crowd. He didn't try to resist her. Instead, he followed meekly behind and that rang alarm bells in her head.

Remy hadn't been meek since he'd escaped the Antiquary. What could have possibly thrown him back into that mindset? She'd get to the bottom of this and find a way to help him. She swore it.

Then they were outside of the club in the cool night air. She looked around swiftly and found her car. It was just a beat up clunker, but it got her around town and the City University campus. She led him over to it and swiftly pulled out her keys.

Remy eyed it distastefully for a moment and gave her an amused look.

"Dis be y' car?"

She spun and waggled a finger under his nose.

"Zip it, Remy. I'm a poor student an' money's tight."

His eyebrows lifted in curiosity as he watched her unlock the car.

"Student? In N'York? T'ought y' was at LSU?"

She shrugged and gestured him into the car. He climbed into the passenger seat and winced slightly as he folded his long legs into the cramped space. She worried her bottom lip at that and wondered if he was hurt.

"Graduate studies at CUNY." She shrugged and grinned at the impressed little noise he made in his throat. "Goin' for my Masters in Forensic Science."

He nodded.

"Good for y', Abby. Always knew y' were a smart one."

Then he stilled and looked at her sharply.

"Forensics? Isn't dat where dey use science t' catch criminals an' stuff?"

She chuckled darkly and winked at him even as she nodded.

"Yep. Sure is." Then she smirked and glanced at him sideways. "You worried, my charmin' little thief from the Quarter?"

Remy stilled, opened his mouth and then closed it again. Then he shrugged and grinned. "Non. Not worried."

She smirked at him.

"Oh?"

Remy nodded and shrugged again.

"Non…Remy's just dat damn good. Ain't never been caught…an' he ain't never gonna be."

Abby snorted.

"Tell that t' the shopkeeper with the melons."

Remy shot her a look and then threw his head back with a bark of laughter. It sounded rusty and disused with just a hint of pain hiding in it.

"Damn. Haven't t'ough of dat incident in years."

He shook his head lightly, a soft grin on his lips.

"For a moment dere, I really did t'ink y' were gonna bring Remy t' y' momma t' tan his hide for tryin' t' steal dat melon."

Abby chuckled and nodded.

"It's a good thing I didn't. She would've, y' know."

He nodded back at her with a small grin of remembrance and then turned his head to look out the window as she drove through the neighborhood to her small apartment. She felt like she should be torn. Here she was studying to be a forensic tech in law enforcement and she had a thief in her car. And Remy was a thief, of that she was certain.

New Orleans was a strange city; one filled with merriment and tradition, music, food, and culture. It also had a darker side, a shady underbelly that hid from the light of day. While she never knew any real details, everyone who lived there knew that organized crime was a huge part of the city's landscape; politically, economically, and physically.

And somewhere along the way, her trembling and terrified little Diable had grown up and became involved in that darker shadier aspect of life in the Big Easy.

But that fact had never affected her fondness for him before and it wouldn't now. He was who and what he was and she was accepting of that and liked him anyway. She probably always would.

Finally, she pulled up to a stop in front of her building and climbed out of the car. Remy climbed out with less than his normal grace and winced as he finally stood up straight and she bit her bottom lip again. She didn't say anything about it though; she just locked her car and led the way up to her apartment. He followed silently behind, only the whisper of cloth and the scent of his cologne to betray his presence.

Opening the door to her apartment, she gestured him in and dropped her bag on the small table there and hung up her keys on the hook. Then she dragged him over to the sofa and flopped down on it. He sighed before slumping down and sprawling next to her. She poked him in the shoulder with one finger.

"Okay, mister. Spill it."

"Quoi?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Don't play innocent with me Remy. I've known you since you were a bedraggled child wandering the streets of New Orleans and trying to avoid…HIM."

They both flinched slightly at even a vague reference to the Antiquary and Remy sighed again and slumped even further into the sofa. Then he reached out and took one of her hands in his and his lips twisted into a faint smile.

"Never did t'ank y' for dat. So…merci, Abby, for lyin' t' de Antiquary's goon squad an' helpin' m' get away."

She smiled at him and squeezed his hand gently.

"You're welcome."

They were silent for a moment and then Abby sighed.

"Why'd you leave school, Remy? You were so close to graduating."

She watched as his eyes grew haunted and filled with tears that refused to fall.

"Had t' leave, me. Y' were dere at m' weddin'."

She nodded and frowned. That was the last time she'd seen him; standing up in the church and marrying his longtime lover Bella. The wedding had been beautiful and Abby had been so happy for him. For them both. Then Remy and Bella had left the church to go to a private reception and party.

"De reception…it didn' go too well. Bella's brot'er…he…he insane. Jealous. Angry."

She squeezed his hand again and made a soothing sound deep in her throat. He offered up a sad smile that didn't reach his haunted eyes.

"Julian…he wanted Bella for himself. Crazy, non? So…he challenge Remy t' a fight an'…Remy killed him."

Abby gasped in shock. That was not what she expected to hear. Remy tried to pull his hand away, but she held on tight and reached up to turn his face to hers. Sad pain-filled eyes looked into hers.

"I'm sorry that happened. You didn't deserve that and neither did Bella."

She shook her head and sighed.

"I never met Julian, but everything I'd ever heard of him painted him as a psycho with a mean streak."

Remy barked out a laugh that had nothing to do with happiness and everything to do with pain.

"Yeah. Dat was Julian all right. Mean. Crazy. An' dangerous. Remy nearly died fightin' him dat night. Ended up banished though. Not allowed back home on pain of death."

"Oh god…"

Abby let go of his hand and wrapped him in a strong hug as she tried desperately to absorb that information. Banishment. That was…crazy. It was archaic and cruel and…so very much in line with the crime families that ruled New Orleans.

"I'm so sorry, Remy." She said honestly. And then again in the drawling French Creole of the Quarter, "Je suis desole."

He melted into her embrace and drew in a shuddering breath that was half sob.

"Merci, Abby."

Then he leaned back away from her and took a moment to pull himself together. She waited patiently, knowing that more was coming.

"So…I left. Couldn't stay. 'bout killed m' t' do it, mais…didn' have no choice. So, I got on m' bike an' just drove away."

He shrugged and looked past her, lost in memories.

"Went west. Met some folks. Some was good, some weren't. Den I headed up north t' Seattle."

He snorted out a huff of breath in bitter amusement.

"Enrolled in school up dere. Was gonna complete m' education an' make somethin' of m'self."

Abby nodded and smiled encouragingly.

"Good."

His grin was bittersweet.

"For awhile it was, chere. Bon temps. Den…den I had a power spike."

He lifted a hand and it burst into crimson fire, the energy crackling and hissing between his fingers. They both stared deep into that deadly power that he wielded at his fingertips.

"I lost control of it, Abby."

Then he made a fist and the fire died away as if it had never been. She bit her lip and held her breath at the horror and pain in his voice.

"Pulled a theatre full of people down an' turned it inta rubble. Just…blew it up an' everythin' started explodin'."

He looked over at her, his eyes haunted and full of pain and sincerity.

"Didn' mean to! Was an accident! I just…couldn' hold de charge in an' I couldn' control it. I was scared an' hurtin'."

Abby caught his eyes with her own and gave him a very serious look.

"I believe you."

And she meant it, too.

Remy swallowed. Nodded. And seemed to relax a tiny bit.

"Merci, chere."

He sat there for a moment, looking lost and scared. She didn't know what to say, how to comfort him. But she wanted to. She wanted to so badly.

"Woke up in a medical lab."

She blinked. His voice…was empty. No pain, no joy, just…empty.

She shivered at that. As hard as the death of Julian or the loss of his control over his powers had been to tell, this…this was going to be worse. There was deep seated trauma in there somewhere and this lack of emotion was telling.

"He say he was a doctor. A geneticist. Specialize in mutations, he say. He wants t' help Remy."

Abby nodded but didn't make a sound, afraid that it would make Remy clam up. She was fairly sure that he'd forgotten she was there.

"Just need a little surgery an' Remy have control over his charge back. Easy as…right? Only, he want payment for de service an' Remy only find out what dat payment be once it too late t' back out."

Remy swallowed.

"Had Remy gather a group toget'er. Freelancers an' mercenaries. Some Remy had met before…some he only heard 'bout from word of mouth. Says dey be bodyguards."

Abby studied his face, the drawn exhaustion and pain under the terror and shame.

"He lied, didn't he?" she whispered.

Remy's head snapped around to look at her, various expressions washing over his face too quickly to catch. Finally settling for a look of deep sadness and regret, Remy nodded.

"Oui, Abby. He lied."

"What happened, Remy?"

He swallowed hard and she looked into his glowing eyes and saw such pain. Regret.

"People died, chere. Good, innocent people."

A sob tore itself from his throat.

"Tried t' stop it, me. Couldn't."

He reached down and pressed a hand low against his stomach.

"Got gutted for m' trouble."

She gasped.

"Gutted?"

He nodded and then pulled up his shirt and leaned back some. She could see the ends of three red and jagged scars that were still in the process of healing standing out brightly against his pale skin. She figured that it had only been four or five months, if that long.

"Y'…y' b'lieve me, petite?"

She looked up into his eyes again and nodded solemnly.

"I believe that he took you in when you were vulnerable and desperate. I believe that he preyed on your pain for his own ends. I believe that he lied to you and tricked you. I believe that you tried to stop it and I believe that you would never have trusted him if you knew just what he was going to do."

Finally, a tear escaped Remy's eye and slipped down his cheek.

"I believe in you, Remy. I always have and I always will."

At that declaration, a sob shook Remy's chest and he pulled her into a tight hug and cried into her hair.

"Merci, Abby…merci."

* * *

When Abby was twenty-six she slumped back against the elevator as it went down towards her lab in the NCIS building and sighed sadly.

The latest case that the team had faced had been a bad one…and it was personal.

People had been disappearing from all over the city. At first, no one at NCIS had really known about it as the missing persons were all being investigated by the local LEO's. Then they tried to nab Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and NCIS got involved.

From there things spiraled quickly out of control.

Someone was kidnapping local mutants. All of the missing people had been low level mutants; classes 1 and 2. Or, as the community called them; epsilon and gamma level mutants. They were the least powerful of the bunch and they usually just blended into society without anyone knowing they had an active X factor in their genes unless they had some odd physical mutation like green skin or something.

Then they got greedy and started looking for class 3 mutants. Beta mutants. They were the ones with real powers, even if it was the lower end of the power register.

Beyond that were the class 4 alpha mutants. They weren't just powerful, they were dangerous. The alpha mutants could destroy cities and usually ended up as part of some paramilitary spandex team.

The most powerful were the class 5 mutants. Omega mutants. These, thankfully rare, individuals could end the world as we know it. Like Magneto.

But Tony, she hadn't even known he was a mutant until they tried to grab him. He'd been darted from behind and collapsed into unconsciousness. The only thing that saved him was that they had discounted Kate. They probably thought she was just another girlfriend and had been surprised when she turned out to be an armed and deadly NCIS agent.

Things had been crazy and tense after that. She had been more hurt that he hadn't confided his secret in her than she was that he was a mutant. She couldn't care less about that part of it.

Kate had been a little freaked at finding out her partner was a beta class mutant. Gibbs had merely demanded a full run down of his abilities so that he could factor that into his investigations, but Abby had just wanted Tony safe and happy.

His mutation wasn't even dangerous, although he admitted it helped make him a better cop. He had heightened senses and a touch of empathy with an occasional bout of precognition. He couldn't fly or shoot laser beams from his eyes or melt plastic with his thoughts. He could just see, hear, and smell a little better than most people and could tell when someone was happy or sad or scared or whatnot.

No big deal.

Still, they had to figure out who was kidnapping mutants and how they'd found out about Tony since he'd kept that secret so well.

Two weeks later and they had a lot of leads and even more evidence. They were planning a huge bust and take down. Tony was both frightened and excited. These were his people being targeted.

That's when word came down from SecNav.

Back off.

Drop the investigation. Or else.

Gibbs had been enraged and it was only a combination of the Director and Ducky that kept him from going off the grid and just doing what needed done. Tony…Tony had been devastated.

Someone high up in the government and powerful with money and politics was pulling the strings. There was no other explanation. Why else would SecNav call off the investigation?

Their own government was sanctioning this…atrocity. Tony had left the building near to tears and as far as she knew, he hadn't been heard from since.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

Then the elevator doors opened and she stepped out and stomped her way to her lab. She'd find some way to make things right. She would. For Tony. For all the people who'd gone missing.

That's when she smelled it, softly scenting the air.

The very faint scent of cigarettes, leather, and a delightfully musky cologne. She came to a stop and peered around, searching. She knew that cologne.

Remy.

Flipping on the lights, she looked around but she didn't see him anywhere. Her eyes flicked from her computer station, to her work bench, to Major Mass. Spec. Nothing was out of place.

She walked forward through the sliding glass door into her office and looked around. Nothing had been touched…except…her computer was on.

She sat down and looked at the screen. It was showing some of the information about the kidnappers and the people that were missing. She was positive that she had turned this machine off before she left last night. She wouldn't have left it running while she wasn't here.

Then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and turned to look. It was a poker card.

Jack of Diamonds.

Grinning softly, she picked it up and found a folded note underneath.

_Abby,_

_Don't worry, chere. You and your team might not be allowed to investigate this, but Gambit's team can and will. The innocents will be found and rescued. I promise._

_Always yours,_

_Remy_

Smiling widely, Abby reached out and picked up the phone. Dialing the extension from memory, she chuckled when it was answered with a familiar annoyed growl.

"Gibbs? I think you need to get the team and come down to the lab. I have something for you."

* * *

**END**


End file.
